


the prince’s necklace

by amybri2002



Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Fluff, Human AU, M/M, Prince!Roman, Tudor Era, ambiguous ending, morally grey deceit, thief!deceit
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-12
Updated: 2020-05-12
Packaged: 2021-03-02 17:21:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,687
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24150481
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/amybri2002/pseuds/amybri2002
Summary: A thief spots a prince in the Globe Theatre, and finds himself stealing a lot more than just a necklace.
Relationships: Creativity | Roman "Princey" Sanders/Deceit Sanders, Logic | Logan Sanders/Morality | Patton Sanders
Comments: 12
Kudos: 73





	the prince’s necklace

**Author's Note:**

> hi!   
> so uhhh i wrote this like two weeks ago (maybe idk time is fake now) for an event i was part of over on discord called cuttthroat fiction, the challenge was to write a piece set in a different time period s o here’s some roceit but in the tutor period. i d i d write this before pof came out but when to chance janus’ name bc. i like the name janus apparently. yeah.   
> i hope y’all enjoy this :)

Janus placed the silver bracelet in his pocket and moved on to his next victim, skilfully manoeuvring his way through the crowded streets towards the Globe Theatre. The play was just about to begin, the final stragglers just now handing over their coins and entering the building. He hummed, following behind a group of nobles making their way in, trying to get himself to the middle of the group to enter with them. The Globe was always a great place for his...  _ work _ . People travelled from all over London to watch Shakespeare's plays, or sometimes just to meet up with friends (or enemies, for that matter). He was bound to find something of value there - it was much easier to  _ borrow _ things from there anyway, as most people were distracted by either the play or whatever drama was going on down in the pits. 

Janus followed the group of nobles up into the galleries, trying to look as innocent as possible. Nobody suspected a thing, of course - they never did. Once he made it into the galleries, he hid underneath the seating, waiting for the play to start and for people to lose sense of where they were. After a couple scenes, he began to crawl through the galleries, occasionally reaching up and taking a piece of jewellery away from the women watching, filling up his pockets with what was sure to bring him profit. 

He soon reached the end of the galleries, just as act one closed up. He made his way down into the pits, figuring he would blend in there more anyway. At this point, his pockets were full, and ready to be emptied once the play was over and he'd be able to leave without drawing attention. He had a...  _ friend _ in the marketplace who was always willing to buy from him - perhaps not as much as his products were worth, and of course his  _ friend _ always managed to sell for more, but he took whatever he could get. As long as he was able to survive in this world, he didn't care. 

A fight had already started on one side of the pits, so Janus moved to the other, further from the entrance. He watched the play -  _ A Midsummer Night's Dream _ , one that he'd seen before in his previous visits to the theatre. Bored, he glanced around the theatre, eyes landing on one of the people in the balconies, where the richer patrons of the theatre would sit to watch. At first, he found himself staring at that gold necklace around the man's neck, decorated in jewels of many different colours - a necklace that was sure to be worth a lot. But then, he found himself staring at the man himself. 

A young prince, Janus thought. He could have sworn that he'd seen him coming out of the Palace one day, as Janus had been observing the Palace for totally innocent reasons. He had recently cut brown hair, a fringe sweeping over his forehead, and a handsome face, gentle. There were freckles over his cheeks, which Janus couldn't stop staring at. He cursed himself silently and tore away his eyes. He... 

He was just looking because of the necklace, wasn't he? And he couldn't exactly steal - no,  _ borrow _ the necklace today. There wasn't any way he could get up to the balcony without being caught, anyway. And this was  _ royalty _ \- the consequences of talking from royalty would be far, far worse than anything he was willing to accept. 

So he continued to watch the play instead - or, at the very least, stare at the actors on stage, and occasionally at the security to ensure that they didn't suspect him of anything. Every now and then, though, he caught himself looking at the prince again, entrapped by... something. A feeling, deep in his soul. One time, he caught the prince staring back. 

~*~ 

"So," Patton said, as Prince Roman entered the kitchen after returning from his trip out, "how was the play?”

Roman grinned. "Oh, it was  _ wonderful _ ! I mean, you can't go wrong with Shakespeare, can you?" 

Patton hummed, smirking a little. "I don't know. You weren't all too impressed after coming back from  _ Romeo and Juliet _ ." 

"They both  _ died _ in the end!" Roman defended. "Can you  _ really _ blame me for being a little disappointed over that?" 

Patton shook his head, smiling fondly. "I'm guessing this play had a satisfying ending?" 

Roman shrugged. "It wasn't like  _ Romeo and Juliet _ , at least." He glanced to the side. "But, uh, there was something a little more interesting, though. Not about the play, I mean?" 

Patton raised an eyebrow. "Yeah? And what might that be?" 

"Uh." Roman rubbed the back of his neck. "I saw a guy." 

Patton's eyes widened. "You did?" He crouched down, removing some pastries from the oven. "Mind telling me about him?"

Roman hummed. "He was... handsome. Found myself watching him more than the play, I think." He chuckled, a light blush forming on his cheeks. "He was in the pits, though. Didn't really get a chance to start a conversation." He took a pastry off the tray, taking a bite and burning his tongue before Patton had a chance to stop him. It was a damn good pastry, though, so Roman didn’t care too much about the heat. 

"Aw." Patton frowned in slight disappointment. "Maybe you'd be able to find him again. Did he seem the type to visit the market?" 

Roman blinked. "Pat, you know I'm not allowed to leave the Palace to visit the market." 

"Well, I'm heading down there tomorrow," he said, a mischievous glint in his eyes. 

"Patton-" 

"C'mon, I can get Logan to cover for you," Patton said. 

" _ Patton- _ " 

"We'll be fine," Patton promised. "It'll just be an hour or so down there." 

Roman sighed. "Alright, fine." 

~*~ 

Janus dropped a bag of jewellery onto the counter, and waited for his  _ friend _ to finish selling some ring to a nobleman. He tapped his foot impatiently on the ground, until his  _ friend _ came over and glanced into the bag, before looking back up at Janus. 

"This is the last time, alright?" he said. "I'm fed up with people coming up to me and claiming that I stole precious family emblems from that." 

Janus rolled his eyes. "These aren't stolen, Virgil, I don't know how many times I have to tell you that." 

"You don't have to lie to me, Janus, I know what you really do." He sighed. "Besides, I'm running short on funds right now. Less people buying jewellery. I can't afford to be buying more stock from you every other week. Especially when you're giving me  _ this much _ ."

"Well, I'm sorry that I'm brilliant at my job," Janus said. "Just give me the money." 

Virgil groaned, but turned away and went to retrieve some money for Janus, placing it down on the table and taking the bag of jewellery. Janus counted the coins, frowning a little. 

"Ten shillings?" he said. 

Virgil glanced at him. "You wanted money. There's some money for you." 

"You paid fifteen shillings for half of this last time," Janus reminded him. 

"Yeah, and?" 

"Surely this is worth a little more than  _ ten shillings _ ," he said, drawling out his words. 

Virgil sighed. "Look, Janus, you can take the money, or I can report you. Your choice." 

Janus growled. Virgil wouldn't do that, would he? Well... Janus knew that Virgil wasn't a massive fan of Janus' lifestyle, and he knew how much anxiety Virgil was faced with day to day knowing that he sold mostly stolen goods. So Janus wouldn't put it past Virgil. But...

"You'd never do that," Janus said. "You're too afraid of getting caught yourself. Besides-" A smirk grew across his face. " _ -you're _ the one with the stolen jewellery, not me." 

Virgil stared at him, breathing heavily. "I'll give you twelve." 

"Seventeen," Janus replied. 

"Fourteen." 

"Seventeen," he repeated. 

Virgil sighed. "Fifteen." 

"At  _ least _ sixteen," Janus tried to compromise. 

After staring at him for a moment longer, Virgil gave in. "Fine." He handed Janus another six shillings, then returned to his business. 

Somewhat satisfied, Janus turned to walk back down the street, along the other stalls of the market. He took an apple off one of the stalls and placed it in his pocket, undetected by both the vendor and the guards wandering the streets. After walking way past the stall and taking a few coins out of unsuspecting people's pockets, he took out the apple and began to eat. No one paid any attention to him - they never did. Expect... 

There he was again. The prince, who he had seen back in the Globe. He was looking at Janus, eyes wide with realisation, and everything in Janus screamed at him to run. Because what if he'd been caught - the prince had seen him in the theatre, maybe he'd seen what he'd done there, or maybe he'd seen what Janus had been doing in the market. Despite that, though, Janus found himself floating closer to the prince. That necklace was still around his neck, and it looked even more beautiful in the morning sunlight. So did the prince, Janus supposed. 

He tried to stay a few paces away from the prince, and tried to look as unassuming as possible, going to look at products on stalls and sending glances in the prince's direction every now and then. A couple of times, the prince seemed to head towards him, almost as if he wanted to strike up a conversation. So Janus stayed away. But eventually the prince had to leave. Humming in thought, Janus stalked behind, following the prince back to the Palace. 

~*~ 

Roman entered his room to be met by a stern-looking Logan, his arms folded and glare deathly. Roman froze in place, half tempted to run back to Patton in the kitchens, or to run towards the window and jump right out. But after a moment of silence, Roman cautiously took a few more steps into the room and closed the door behind him. 

"I've been looking for you for hours, Roman," Logan said. 

Roman blinked. "Uh, did Patton not-" 

"Don't try to use Patton to distract me again," Logan warned. "You were supposed to be at your classes an hour ago." 

Roman groaned. "I don't  _ need _ those classes, Logan." 

"You do if you're going to be king someday." Logan pushed his glasses up as nose, and stepped closer to Roman. "Where were you?" 

"I was with Patton," Roman said, figuring there was no use in coming up with excuses - Logan would be able to see right through his bullshit, so there wasn't much point in trying. "Seriously, if you don't believe me you can go ask him." 

Logan sighed. "For the second time, stop trying to distract me with Patton." 

"I- I'm not," Roman said. "I'm not telling you to go cuddle your boyfriend. I mean, if you want to, then go ahead, I'll be up here getting on with my studies I guess, but-" 

"You're definitely trying to distract me now," Logan said. He wasn't exactly wrong. "What were you doing with Patton, anyway?" 

"Did... Did he not tell you?" Roman asked. "He was supposed to tell you." 

Logan hummed. "He hasn't said a thing. Unless he told me last night whilst I was working - I think he was talking to me, but, you know, I was working." 

"Ah." Roman shook his head. That idiot. "Well. I just went down to the market with him." 

"You  _ what _ ?"

"Before you get mad," Roman quickly said, holding up his hands in defence, "it's because I saw a cute boy and wanted to see him again. Not because I don't care about the  _ rules _ or whatever." 

"How is that a good excuse?" 

"I don't know," Roman said. "I hoped that maybe it meant something." 

Logan closed his eyes for a moment. "Well. I won't get angry with you this time." 

Roman smiled. 

"But," Logan continued, immediately causing Roman to lose his smile, "if this happens again I may have to alert the Queen." 

Roman's eyes widened, his face dropped. "You wouldn't!" 

"I would, actually." 

Logan was right - he absolutely would, and Roman knew it. "Alright, fine, I promise I won't go chasing after cute boys again." He didn't mean that, of course, and Logan knew it, but it was better than nothing. 

"Alright then." Logan clapped his hands together. "Now, you mentioned that you wanted to stay up here and study?" 

Roman groaned. 

~*~ 

The moon was high in the sky by now, and Janus had been sitting outside the Palace for hours, waiting for the right moment to strike. The prince's bedroom light was still on - he'd seen the prince wandering about the room all day (or, at least, since he got back). And with less guards now wandering the perimeter of the Palace, now seemed like a better time than ever to head inside. 

Janus stood up and walked out of the bush he'd been hiding in half the day, and ran over to the side of the Palace, beginning to climb up the wall. There was a lattice structure made from wood, with plants growing up it, on the side of the building, which Janus climbed up easily, making it to the prince's window in no time at all. Glancing inside, he saw that the room was empty asides from the prince, who was sitting at his desk on the far side of the room. Smirking, Janus raised the window and crept inside, staying close to the wall as he wandered about the room. The prince failed to notice him. 

He stepped towards the side of the bed, picking up a few trinkets on the bedside table and placing them in his pockets - he imagined they'd be of a great value, especially coming from the Palace. Besides, they seemed too small and insignificant for the prince to notice that they were gone. As he was taking a fifth trinket, he froze, feeling somebody staring at him. 

"It's you," a voice said. 

Janus glanced over, trying to remain as still as possible. The prince had seen him. Great. He plastered on a polite smile. "I'm sorry, do I know you?" 

The prince breathed in. "You were in the theatre. And the marketplace." 

"Was I?" Janus hummed. "I don't quite recall." 

The prince seemed to be getting angry. Or agitated. "You were  _ staring _ at me." 

Janus let out a short, sharp laugh. "I think I'd remember seeing such a handsome face if I was." 

A blush spread across the prince's cheeks.  _ Fuck _ \- it took all of Janus's willpower to stay calm at that. To not move towards him and kiss him. No - why was he even thinking about that? He didn't want to kiss the prince. Why would he want to kiss the prince? Even if he  _ was _ extraordinarily beautiful and even cuter when flustered. 

"What are you doing in my room?" 

Janus smirked. He stepped towards Roman, lifting up his hand and running it down his cheek. "I saw you in the window and wanted a closer look." 

The prince froze. For a moment, he seemed to not quite know how to respond. "Do you have any idea how creepy that sounds?" 

"Now that I think about it," Janus said, "I suppose it does sound a little weird. But who can blame me - with beauty such as yours, how can I stay away?" 

He was right up besides the prince now, their bodies touching. Janus wrapped his arm around the prince's shoulder, and the prince didn't object - in fact, he copied, wrapping his own arm around Janus's waist. Janus tried to ignore the feeling in his stomach as that happened, and the sudden wave of panic sent through his mind as he felt the prince's breath on his neck. Because he couldn't think about that - he wasn't flustered, wasn't embarrassed, not at all. He felt nothing for the prince - why would he feel  _ anything _ for the prince? Besides, he wasn't here to flirt, was he? He was here to... 

The necklace. Yes, that's why he came. He carefully undid the necklace wrapped around the prince's neck, slipping it down his sleeve and later into his pocket as he drew away. The prince hadn't suspected a thing. 

"It is you from the market, I'm sure of it," the prince said. "I haven't been able to get rid of your face all night and day." 

Janus just smiled. "I'm flattered." 

The prince frowned. "So it  _ was _ you?" 

"I can neither confirm nor deny that," Janus said. "I was indeed at the market today." 

" _ I knew it _ ," the prince whispered, before clearing his throat and holding out his hand. "I'm Prince Roman." 

"It's an honour to meet you," Janus said, planting a small kiss on the back of Roman's hand as he bowed. 

"Would you perhaps do me the honour of staying the night?" Roman offered. 

God, he was forward. Janus couldn't possibly accept his offer, on the off chance of him getting caught or Roman finding out that he'd taken the necklace. Part of him was tempted, though, for reasons he refused to imagine. 

"I'm afraid not, your highness," Janus said. "I should leave you to your...  _ studying _ ." 

Roman seemed vaguely disappointed by that, and Janus tried to ignore how that look made his heart drop. 

"I'll be back, though." Janus winked. "I think I'd go insane if I never saw you again." 

With that, Roman's disappointment faded. Janus began to move back towards the window, going to climb back out. 

"Can I at least get your name before you leave?" Roman called, rushing towards the window as Janus lowered himself out. 

"I'll leave that for our next meeting," Janus said, beginning to climb back down the wall. Before Roman could reply, Janus had reached the bottom, and escaped the Palace. 

~*~ 

Roman paced back and forth around the library, in front of an increasingly frustrated Logan. 

"Your highness, I do think we should be getting back to your studies," Logan suggested. 

Roman groaned. " _ How _ am I supposed to concentrate on my studies when I'm actually in love?" 

Logan sighed. "Roman, you cannot possible be in love-" 

"How would you know?" 

"I... am aware that you have met someone," Logan said, carefully. "How you have met this person and how you have managed to get in contact, I do not know, but what I do know is that you cannot have possibly been in contact with him for long enough to fall in love." 

"I  _ saw _ him last night, Logan," Roman insisted, running his fingers through his hair. "He got into my room, somehow. He was flirting with me, I swear to God. And... And it made me feel good. Is that not love?" 

Logan pursed his lips. "I'd say that is either infatuation, possibly due to only ever spending your time with either Patton or myself and never really 'getting yourself out there', as one would say, or a dream." 

"It  _ wasn't _ a dream," Roman said, with absolute certainty. "And it's  _ not _ infatuation. It's...  _ real _ . I can feel it. I can't get him out of my mind, Logan. It's like he's haunting me. He was in the theatre, and then the market, and then  _ my room _ \- he must be following me, or something. So he must feel the same way, right?" 

Logan glanced at Roman, and Roman couldn't quite figure out his expression - it was something like confusion, or pity, or... sadness. But then again, this was Logan. Roman never quite knew how to read him. 

But now Logan's hand was on Roman's arm, and he was looking at him softly, and Roman just wanted to run away. 

"I'm... perhaps not the best person to talk to about this," Logan said, "but I am still firm in my belief that you cannot love him just yet. You don't even know his name." 

Roman broke away from Logan's grip and walked towards the window, sitting in an armchair and holding his head in his hands, elbows propped up against his knees. "How did you know?" he asked. "With Patton, I mean." 

Logan was silent for a moment, seemingly lost for words. He cleared his throat. "Well, Patton and I have known each other since childhood. We both got a job here, and started to see each other more often. Eventually, we realised that we both had feelings for one another. It took quite a few years to figure that out, though." 

Roman huffed. "Well, that's no help. I'm not exactly childhood friends with this guy." 

Logan approached Roman, leaning on the desk a few metres away. "Maybe you should talk to Patton. He's better with all of this." 

Roman glanced up at him. "Patton's busy. And I'm supposed to be here right now anyway." 

Logan hummed. "I suppose you're right." He tapped his fingers on the desk. "Well, the guy is returning tonight, correct?" 

"That's what he said," Roman replied. 

"Ah. It does unsettle me that he apparently knows how to sneak into the Palace," Logan admitted, "but as long as he does you no harm, I suppose I have no objections against you two meeting." 

Well, they would have met up regardless of what Logan thought about it anyway, so Roman didn't pay much attention to that. 

"I suggest you talk to him," Logan said. "Get to know him a little. From that, you will be able to learn if the two of you are compatible, and, assuming you are, start a proper relationship."

Roman groaned. "Can't we just go straight to kissing?" 

The tips of Logan's mouth lifted up in what could loosely be described as a smile. "Give it time, Roman. If he 'loves' you as well, he'll be willing to give it time." 

~*~ 

His hands in his pockets, Janus ran his fingers over the charm on the necklace, humming in thought and trying to ignore the terrible feeling in his chest. He had to get rid of this necklace as soon as possible, before someone caught him with it - people would surely recognise it as the prince's, and then he'd be done for. That feeling in his chest was just worry, wasn't it? Fear that he may be caught. Not at all guilt, no way. 

Virgil wasn't buying from him anymore. He had tried - the first thing he'd done upon arriving at the market was head to Virgil's stand, but all Virgil did was shoo him away. So now he sat on a wall overlooking the market, trying to figure out what he could possibly do. 

He supposed he could melt down the necklace, take out the jewels, sell them separately and sell the gold to a blacksmith perhaps, but... it would be an awful shame to ruin such a beautiful necklace. It deserved to have a good owner, it deserved to be owned by someone like a prince- 

Well, technically it  _ was _ owned by a prince. Not anymore, but... 

He let go of the necklace, taking his hands out his pockets and letting them fall to his side. Something inside him told him that he couldn't sell the necklace. Well,  _ physically _ he could sell the necklace, but he imagined that it wouldn't get that sinking feeling to go away. In fact, he imagined it would only make the sinking feeling worse. Because  _ maybe _ that sinking feeling wasn't worry. Maybe it  _ was _ guilt. Ugh. He'd never felt guilty before - why now? 

It was Roman's fault, he was sure. Roman was making him feel awful. The look in his eyes, his flustered cheeks whenever Janus got too close, the desperation in his voice to  _ know _ Janus, to really know him. 

That bastard. Who gave him the right to make Janus feel this way? 

~*~ 

Roman's eyes lit up upon seeing a shadow in his window and a man crawl inside. It was him - the stranger who'd stolen his heart. Roman immediately jumped off his bed and stepped closer, which seemed to alarm the guy, but Roman ignored that. 

"You came back," Roman said, sounding as if he thought that he  _ wouldn't _ come back - which, of course, he knew that he'd come back, why wouldn't he, but the thought had crossed his mind a couple times. 

"Of course I did, my prince," he said, bowing. "I'd never break a promise." 

Roman grinned and ran back towards his bed, sitting down and patting besides him, motioning for him to join. The handsome stranger sat down next to him, their legs touching. Roman held his breath. 

"So," Roman said, his voice a couple octaves higher than normal, "do I get to know your name yet?" 

He hummed. "Not just yet." 

Roman pouted. "What?  _ Why _ ?" 

The man smiled. "I think I'd prefer to keep that to myself. Anything else, though, you are very welcome to know." 

Roman glanced up at the ceiling, then back down at the man. "Alright. Favourite Shakespeare play?”

The man blinked. "Huh?" 

"You were at the Globe, right?" Roman recalled - it was definitely the same man, even if he had tried to convince Roman otherwise. "So you must like Shakespeare. Favourite play?" 

The man hummed. " _ Twelfth Night _ ," he said. 

Roman raised an eyebrow. "Interesting. You're into the comedies, then?" 

The man nodded. "Tragedies can be extraordinarily... tragic. Not much fun to watch." 

"True, true," Roman said. "Absolutely hated the end of  _ Romeo and Juliet _ ." 

"Why?" The man snorted. "Those two had it coming, in my opinion." 

Roman's eyes widened. "They were  _ in love _ ." 

"They were young and stupid," he argued. "They'd known each other for not even a day before they decided to get married. If they had just talked to each other a little more, and maybe talked to their  _ parents _ , things might have been better. But they didn't. It's entirely their fault."

"They were  _ in love _ ," Roman repeated, "and you cannot convince me otherwise." It didn't sit right with Roman that the man had that opinion, because it meant that they probably didn't have the same views on love - plus there was the fact that they'd only known each other for a couple days, so according to his thoughts on things they shouldn't be in love, just yet. But then, if he wasn't in love with Roman, why had he been flirting so much the night before? Why  _ else _ would he have been flirting with Roman? 

"Well, what's your favourite, then?" he asked, apparently deciding to not argue his case over  _ Romeo and Juliet  _ any further. 

Roman hummed. "Well, I certainly enjoyed  _ A Midsummer Night's Dream _ , but I have a feeling that was more to do with a certain face in the audience," he said, smirking at him. 

A light blush formed on his cheek, which was ignored by him and caused Roman's heart to flutter. " _ A Midsummer Night's Dream _ gets boring after a while." 

Roman shrugged. "I've only seen it once. And only actually saw about half of it. That audience member I mentioned was incredibly distracting." 

That just made the man blush more.

"Although, I think my favourite might be  _ Hamlet _ ," Roman said. "Seen that quite a few times now." 

He raised an eyebrow. "What happened to not liking sad endings?" 

"I'm upset that Romeo and Juliet specifically died," Roman explained. "The rest of the deaths in Shakespeare I can cope with."

After that, the conversation trailed off a bit, Roman not quite knowing where next to head. The only thing he knew that they had in common was Shakespeare, but other than that... God, Logan had told him to get to know him, but all Roman wanted to know was how his lips felt against his own. 

Roman glanced at him, looking into those gorgeous green eyes, and in that moment he wanted nothing more than to lean over and kiss him. But he had to hold himself back, right? Logan had a boyfriend, so Roman was sure that he could trust his advice, but... God, his face was right there, closer than ever. Although, now that Roman could have a closer look, doubt began to settle in his stomach. There was a scar down one side of his face, running from his eye down to his jaw. And whilst that certainly made him a million times more attractive - it gave him an aura of mystery, an idea of some tragic past that Roman desperately wanted to learn - Roman couldn't help but feel a little... scared. Worried. 

The man turned his head away. "So, anything else you want to know?" 

Roman cleared his throat. "How'd you get that scar?" 

He froze. "I-" He slowly lifted his hand up towards his cheek, shaking a little, before pulling his hand back down and breathing in. "Alright, two things you aren't allowed to know yet - my name, and about the scar." 

That disappointed Roman slightly, but oh well. He had plenty of time to get the man to open up. 

"Alright then." Roman hummed. "How'd you feel about kissing me?" 

His eyes widened, as his head shot towards Roman. "What?" 

"Would you like to kiss me?" 

He blinked. "I, uh-" Slowly, a smile formed on his face. "Alright. Why not?" 

Silently celebrating, Roman began to lean towards Janus, who reached up his hand and stroked Roman's cheek, just before their lips interlocked. And it was wonderful. Everything that Roman had hoped for. His lips were soft and secure, and he felt safe in his arms, as the man wrapped his own arm around Roman's shoulder and began to stroke through his hair. Roman pushed himself closer, essentially sitting on top of the man's lap at this point, and wrapped his arms around his back, holding him close. Roman would have been happy to stay there, in that position, for forever. 

But eventually they pulled away, and Roman stared at the man, a huge smile across his face. The man stood up. "I should get going," he said. 

Roman's face immediately. "Can't you stay the night?" 

The man shook his head. "Sorry. I'll be back tomorrow, alright?" 

Roman glanced down. "Alright. But you'll stay tomorrow, right?" 

He smiled, softly. "Perhaps. We'll see." He jumped out the window, escaping into the night. 

For a while longer, Roman sat on the edge of his bed, staring at the window, half expecting the man to return. But he didn't. Roman raised his arm up, running his fingers over the charm on his necklace. 

Huh. That was strange. He didn't recall putting his necklace on earlier that day. 

~*~ 

Janus glanced up at the prince's window, noticing Roman hanging out, waiting for him. Interesting. This was the third night that Janus had come to visit, and in all honestly he wasn't entirely sure why he had returned. The night before, he had given back the necklace - and would have given back the trinkets if he hadn't already ditched them upon realising the true worth of the necklace - so there wasn't much reason for him to be back. The terrible feeling he felt had disappeared, only to be replaced by another feeling, a sweet feeling, a  _ sickeningly _ sweet feeling that he hated with every ounce of his being. But that feeling had told him to return, and  _ maybe _ he wasn't ready to let go of Roman, not just yet. 

He waited for Roman to leave the window before climbing up and hoping in, surprising Roman a little as he finally arrived. 

"Christ, I thought you weren't coming for a moment." 

Janus smiled. "I'd never abandon you, my prince." 

Roman sighed. "You did, though. The past two nights I've offered for you to stay, and both times you left, just like that." 

Janus rubbed the back of his neck. "I apologise. You are aware I shouldn't be here. I don't think your mother would be all too pleased." 

"I... suppose you're right." Roman sat down on his bed, and Janus joined. "So, do I get to know your name yet?" 

This was the  _ last _ time that Janus would come, he was sure of that. There was no point in returning. So there wasn't exactly anything wrong with Roman learning his name. "It's Janus." 

"Janus," Roman repeated. Hearing him say that caused a sinking feeling in Janus' chest, a feeling he definitely did not like, but at the same time... God, it sounded so good coming from Roman. 

The two stayed in Roman's bed for a while longer. They didn't talk much, instead deciding to show their  _ affection _ (Janus never thought he'd have to experience that, but perhaps he loved it a little more than he was willing to admit) through touch, sharing their warmth in tight embraces and gentle kisses. And maybe Janus liked this a little too much. Maybe he didn't want it to end. God, he never wanted this to end. 

But it had to. He couldn't be doing this all the time - eventually he'd get caught, and sent to prison, possibly killed. Most definitely killed, knowing the Queen. He wasn't in the mood to die any time soon. He  _ had _ to leave. 

"I have to go," he told Roman, after pulling away from a final kiss. Roman, however, refused to let go of Janus's hand. 

"Please don't," Roman said, the desperation in his voice almost breaking Janus's heart. 

"I can't stay, Roman," Janus insisted. "This is all... I can't stay here." 

Roman stood up, still holding Janus's hand. "Then take me with you." 

Janus blinked. "What?" 

" _ Take me with you _ ," Roman repeated. "We can run away together. Just me and you. We'd never have to be apart." 

"I- You're a prince, Roman," Janus said. 

"And?" Roman bit his lip. "I can leave all this behind. We could run away to the countryside, build a new life." 

It... did sound tempting. Janus didn't quite know why. But... 

"Okay," Janus said, standing up as well and leading Roman towards the window. "Stay close, alright?" 

"Of course." 

And the two climbed out, ran away from the Palace, from London, as far as their legs could carry them. And Janus had to admit that, yes, perhaps he  _ did _ feel something for the prince. Perhaps this was meant to be.


End file.
